Virtual Desktop | Hosted Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is getting a lot of traction as an alternate desktop delivery mechanism. Major suppliers are developing various offerings to tap this market, including partnerships with technology vendors, managed desktop services, etc. These suppliers have varying competence in various aspects of VDI delivery.

This research piece analyzes and assesses the capabilities of major suppliers along the key dimensions of experience, size/scale, global delivery and VDI strategy. The suppliers have been profiled along different dimensions of desktop management, desktop virtualization and management tools. It also includes a framework detailing the critical success factors that a VDI strategy should implement to be successful.

One of the most important aspects has to be disaster recovery; whilst you will find that most data centres have a plan in place to protect your data, some may not be adequately prepared in the event of a power outage, or internet services going down, for example.

Having a back-up plan is vital to the operation of your business and as such, there are a few things that you need to ensure that your provider has put in place to protect you, the customer, and your business.

Does the supplier have secondary, backup servers in the event that the main servers fail

Does the supplier have more than one internet connection available in the event that one should go down

Does the supplier provide 24/7 support so that you can call them if you experience problems at your end

Does the supplier have safety and further backup measures in place such as fire-suppression systems, generator and battery backups in the event of a power outage and is the data sent between you and the data centre secured with encryption

Up and downtimes – obviously data centres will need necessary maintenance carrying out on their systems at some points and it’s essential that you discuss this at the outset. Most firms will carry out essential works outside of working hours so that your business is not affected, but this may not always be the case, so do ask about what percentage of uptime your contract will include

PaaS or SaaS ? If we were to classify which type of cloud product Hosted Desktop is, then we’d have to say that it encompasses elements of both Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS), as you have both the operating system (platform) and the applications (software) being delivered as a service. As such there is a good case for it sitting in its own category and being described as Desktop as a Service (DaaS).

So why would you move the desktop experience of your business to the Cloud?

When you buy a computer it tends to come with an operating system (OS) and perhaps some pre-installed applications. So why would you then want to get another operating system and applications delivered as a service? This is a fair question – which tees us up perfectly for examining the advantages of deploying Hosted Desktop!

A hosted desktop looks and feels exactly like a regular PC, except you launch it from an icon on your desktop or through another device such as a tablet or smartphone. The interface is then exactly the same with the familiar “Start” button, applications, menus and shortcuts. A range of providers offer such a service but Hosted Accountants are the only dedicated supplier in the UK of virtual hosted desktop for accountants.

There is very little difference and staff familiarity is high making this an ideal solution to modern working. The main difference is everything is held securely and managed in a UK data centre and you can work from anywhere. You do need an internet connection to view your desktop – whether wired, wireless or over 3/4G. The improvements to UK infrastructure continue to make this method of working easier every day. To get more information , Click on Virtual Desktop Suppliers .